The Wheel
by scribejbella
Summary: Rating Pending. Toya gets sick. The line separating Yukito's mind from Yue is growing thin. Sudden changes in Sakura's life have thrown her to the mercy of fate. How can Syaoran intervene without putting both of them in greater danger? Please Review.


_Dear Kaho-Sensei_

_ This will be a shock to you…_

Sakura blew her nose for what seemed like the thousandth time since starting the letter to her former teacher and friend. Barely able to see through the blur of tears, she struggled to write the right words to tell her that Toya, Sakura's older brother, had passed away.

She was still dressed in her black funeral garb, having just returned to her family home from the graveyard. Her father had offered to stay downstairs and console with Toya's network of friends.

_ Sincerely,_

_ Kinomoto Sakura_

She leaned back in her chair and heaved a shuddering sigh. She didn't read over what she had written. She knew exactly what it said, and she didn't want to read it again. Sakura folded the letter and slipped it inside the addressed envelope, intended for England. Sakura sealed it and set it aside before reaching for her empty box of tissues.

"Sakura-chan…"

Sakura accepted the tissue presented to her by a tiny yellow paw. "Thank you, Kero-chan…" she said softly.

"Sakura-chan… are you alright? Is there anything I can get you?"

She shook her head, but didn't look up from the soggy tissue in her hand. "No, thanks Kero-chan. I'll go back downstairs once I-"

Fresh tears began to fall from her reddened eyes. Kero extracted another tissue for her and held it on stand by. Fluttering up to her eye level, he stroked her hair and let her cry until her throat was too raw to cough, and her tears seemed to reach their limit.

* * *

Fujitaka cleared the coffee table of left over tea cups and napkins to make room for a small pot of peach blossoms. Beside the pot he placed a photograph of Nadeshiko and Toya when they were out on a family picnic. It had been taken the year before Sakura was born. At least they were together again, Fujitaka thought with a small sense of relief. Toya and his mother had been very close. Fujitaka wasn't surprised when his son began claiming that he could see the ghost of his late mother.

At least they were together again.

Sakura hadn't come downstairs all evening, despite claiming that she would. Fujitaka couldn't blame her. Poor girl was probably still in her room. She might have even exhausted herself from crying and had fallen asleep.

One guest remained from the funeral. Toya's best friend, Yukito, sat in silence and stared at a cold cup of tea that he clutched in his pale hands. Fujitaka returned from the kitchen with a fresh pot. The older man sat down in the armchair across from Yukito's seat on the couch. "If you like, you may spend the night," he said with a warm fatherly tone. "Unless this is too much-"

Yukito slowly shook his head. "No, thank you Kinomoto-san. I will stay, if you don't mind…" He glanced up at Fujitaka. "Is Toya's old room-"

Fujitaka nodded. "I didn't change anything after he left home, in case he ever came to visit. You may use it. The two of you were so close, I've always considered you family."

"Sakura-chan didn't come back down after all."

"Sakura-chan has a strong constitution. This has been a big blow to her, but she will get through it. I would expect nothing less from her."

Fujitaka took the teacup from Yukito and offered him a small smile. "Go rest. I'll finish cleaning up."

He didn't argue. Yukito left Toya's father with the tidying up and headed for the staircase. Half-way down the hall he stopped. He suddenly felt compelled to lie down, which he now knew that meant his other self needed to emerge. Yukito submitted to the magical force that caused him to sleep until he was allowed to walk free in this body again.

Yue, silver hair flowing past his feet, walked right past Toya's bedroom door and continued to the Master's chamber. He'd felt Sakura's sadness. Even more so he felt the sadness of his disguise. Yukito's heart ached every time someone mentioned Toya's name, every time he saw a small reminder of him. It was a kindness to put him into stasis for a short while. Yue would likely leave him a message to console him. Losing the one you love was never an easy thing. There were times after the death of Clow Reed that Yue wished he could vanish as well. But that was not his purpose.

The door opened and closed silently as he entered Sakura's room. Just as he had suspected, the young woman had passed out. She was still dressed in her day clothes but she was stretched out on her bed.

"Keroberos… How long has the Master been asleep?"

Kero glanced up at Yue from Sakura's pillow. He had been watching her sleep. He would occasionally dab her cheeks with a handkerchief, as even sleep couldn't stop her tears. "A few hours now," he replied. "She wrote a letter to that woman. It's there on the desk. I'll mail it for her when it gets darker out."

"She did not write to him?"

Kero shook his head. "The kid hasn't been in correspondence with Sakura-chan since she started high school. There were a few letters back and forth in the beginning, but it seems that both of them have been too busy to keep up with it. Her last letter to him was sent back. Sakura-chan was sad at first. She had to stop me from going over to Hong-Kong myself to give him a piece of my mind." The little beast's face reddened at the memory. He'd never liked Li Syaoran much…

Yue stared at the little form of his Master. Sakura had grown a great deal since he first met her. She now had the body of an adult woman. Years of athletics had shaped her into a lean and sturdy figure. She was by no means fragile looking - except like this, crying and whimpering in her sleep. Yue would've normally been disgusted by such a display, except this young woman had become precious to him and he found himself desperately wishing he could make her pain go away.

"Tomoyo-chan is coming tomorrow to help her write thank-you letters to everyone," continued Kero. He dabbed at her cheeks once again. He glanced up at Yue again and asked, "how is the snow-rabbit taking it?"

Yue frowned. "Yukito has lost his will to live."

Kero's eyes went wide. "He wouldn't-"

"No. I would step in before that could ever happen. Yukito will rest now."

Sakura stirred a little and muttered a few disjointed words. "Cry… Yukito-san… don't… Onee-chan…"

Yue's eyes darkened. "The Master is deeply troubled."

"Her brother got sick so suddenly, no one knew or suspected what would happen."

"The father has not shown any signs of grief."

"We can't feel him like we can with Sakura-chan. Kinomoto-san shows his sadness very discreetly. He lost his wife many years ago. Sakura-chan told me he promised her he wouldn't cry. He probably made the same promise in this case."

Yue reached out a pale hand and carefully brushed some of his Master's light brown hair from her face. "She has cried enough for them both.

"I cannot help but feel somewhat responsible for this, Keroberos."

"Hm? What the heck do you mean, Yue? You didn't make him sick!"

"No… but had Toya still retained his magic, he might have been better able to fight his illness. He sacrificed that for Yukito. Yukito has harboured the same thoughts."

Sakura rolled away from them, ending up on her side, facing the wall. "Syaoran-kun…"

"Even after all these years, Sakura-chan…" Kero muttered. "The snow-rabbit is going to feel guilty no matter what. You didn't do this, Yue. None of us can take the blame."

Yue only snorted and swept out of Sakura's room. He would think about this further in solitude. When he was finished brooding he would allow Yukito awaken in Toya's bed, along with Yue's instructions to be supportive of Sakura.

Back in Sakura's room, Kero watched her stir for a long moment before he grabbed the black teddy bear from her desk and dropped it into her limp arms. She folded herself around it and calmed her movements almost immediately. The Guardian Beast of the Seal vowed to himself that he would help Sakura no matter what-

Even if that meant hunting down Li Syaoran.

* * *

Welcome and thank you for chosing my fanfic for your reading pleasure. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. This is the result of becomming reaquainted with Card Captor Sakura after years of separation from it's glory. Kind of a dark start to this one...

Feedback is always welcome. The next chapter should be ready to be posted in a week or so.


End file.
